Birmingham City University and Aston University:

Reducing graduate unemployment through productive partnerships

On this project, Birmingham City University and Aston University used their relationships with local employment partners, particularly the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), to engage those local graduates who are likely to be at greater risk of long-term unemployment.

As part of the Office for Students' Challenge Competition: Industrial strategy and skills, the Graduate Re-Tune project was formed to boost access to graduate-level jobs for local students and graduates in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull area.

The project was aimed at locally based graduates who were not engaging with their home university after graduation, particularly those from widening participation neighbourhoods and groups most at risk of not securing graduate level jobs: such as ‘first generation’ scholars, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) graduates and those with a disability.

The project sought to achieve its aims by identifying the skills needs and socioeconomic barriers faced by unemployed and underemployed graduates reliant on mainstream support. This intelligence was then applied to inform the content and delivery of new graduate progression and support pathways.

Both Birmingham City University (BCU) and Aston University have significant proportions of locally resident and underrepresented students, with high proportions of 'first generation' scholars. Analysis of 'Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE)' survey results at a local level showed that significant numbers remain in the area post-study. While both universities deliver targeted careers, employability and skills provision which support the majority of their students and graduates, large numbers of underrepresented and first generation students were not engaging with this support after graduating.

In addition, Jobcentre Plus (JCP) Birmingham and Solihull District data showed that, prior to this project being implemented, there were more than 600 graduates registered locally for Universal Credit (UC) and engaged with JCP work coaches. JCP has a focus on providing individualised support for jobseekers but acknowledged that its service offering did not specifically address graduate skills needs. Furthermore, their work coaches had limited knowledge of graduate needs and limited access to graduate job vacancies.

Therefore the specific outcomes that the project was seeking, in order to improve the graduate-level employment rates for Birmingham resident graduates, included:

• Developing effective referral routes between the network of Jobcentres operating across Birmingham and Solihull and both universities, to provide additional support to local UC claiming graduates, and help them to access ‘mainstream’ higher education employability and skills support, which would complement DWP’s mainstream support to all unemployed people
• Improving JCP awareness of the employability and skills support services that BCU and Aston could offer to graduates on DWP work coach caseloads
• Offering unemployed and underemployed graduates access to advice and support via a multiagency service delivery model
• Designing and piloting bespoke and specialist provision to address the socioeconomic barriers graduates face, and new higher education employability and skills provision aligned with mainstream DWP programmes.

The project researched the specific personal and labour market barriers that graduates face at various stages and applied this intelligence, and the lessons learned from piloting Graduate Re-Tune interventions, to inform the content and delivery of existing and new student and graduate progression and support pathways.

The project team developed a dynamic and agile service delivery model adapted to the needs of their graduates, which offers flexible online and face-to-face support. This model follows a sequence from referral through to progression:

Referral

DWP work coaches refer unemployed and underemployed graduates, who have attended BCU or Aston, to the project management team who, in turn, allocate each graduate a named Graduate Re-Tune Consultant (GRC) to support them throughout their time on the programme.

Assessment

With the help of a GRC, each unemployed graduate referred by their DWP work coach completes a formal registration, diagnostic tool and skills action plan, and identifies their priority skills development needs. These documents are the gateway to accessing Graduate Re-Tune support.

Delivery

Following completion of a tailored package of employability and skills provision, the graduate will be offered an intensive period of graduate-level job matching support, including access to paid microplacements with local SMEs and BCU’s Kickstart Graduate Opportunities Gateway.

Progression

Participants who secure a part-time job or a work placement remain ‘on programme’ and have access to additional employability and skills provision to support their progression in work, either with their current employer or an alternative employer. Participants who secure a full-time graduate-level job may also still access Graduate Re-Tune support and continue to receive the Graduate Re-Tune newsletter.

The project managed to far exceed its original targets in terms of graduates engaged and employment secured:

• 394 Aston and BCU unemployed or underemployed graduates took up the Graduate Re-Tune offer, against a target of 134
• 245 participants completed a tailored programme of employability and skills support, all of which were offered graduate jobs matching support
• 220 unemployed programme completers secured a work placement or job, against an initial target of 51
• 172 programme completers secured a graduate-level work placement or job, against an initial target of 42.

Following the success of the project, BCU and Aston University have committed to continue to fund the existing project management team and two GRCs beyond the OfS funding period, by mainstreaming Graduate Re-Tune as a core component of their graduate offers. In addition, the project also has commitment from DWP for the Birmingham and Solihull District to continue to allocate DWP work coach resources to the project.

With these commitments in place, Graduate Re-Tune will continue to help and support local unemployed and underemployed graduates gain graduate-level employment.